1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cable connector adapted to terminate/connect an electrical cable, particularly a flat ribbon cable comprising plural parallel signal and grounding conductors separated and housed by insulative material.
2. The Prior Art
Electrical connection between different electronic devices for signal transmission, such as that between a central processing unit and a peripheral device of a computer, is usually obtained by using electrical cables connected therebetween. There are different types of cables available on the market including flat ribbon cables which comprise a plurality of separate conductors for allowing simultaneous transmission of signals. Since a flat ribbon cable may comprise tens or hundreds of signal and/or grounding conductors, securing the flat ribbon cable to a cable connector requires individual connection of each of the conductors to a corresponding conductor in the cable terminator. To efficiently and effectively secure the flat ribbon cable to the cable connector, an insulation displacement connection (IDC) technique is usually employed. The IDC technique involves providing a sharpened edge or end on the conductor in the cable connector/terminator which forcibly pierces the insulation of the cable thereby establishing a physical contact with the conductor of the cable. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,190,952, 4,508,401, 4,596,428 and 4,749,371.
As the operational speed of computer central processing units increase, the frequency of signals transmitted through the flat ribbon cable is dramatically increased and significant electromagnetic interference between two adjacent conductors in the flat ribbon cable frequently occurs. Such a phenomenon is commonly referred to as "cross-talking" which adversely affects signal transmission quality and thus the stability of data transmission.
It is thus desirable to have a cable connector for terminating/connecting a flat ribbon cable which effectively suppresses the cross-talk problem encountered in the prior art.